# Whatcha Readin' August 2011 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916 "2011-07-31T11:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/41 "2011-08-07T22:30:43Z")
Finished \*Dark Descendant \*the first in a promising new series about the children of Immortals (gods of legend.) It started slowly and I was skeptical, but it picked up and I will try the next. ---
**Author:** ![TheShrike23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@TheShrike23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheShrike23)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/42 "2011-08-07T22:56:25Z")
I’m around 100 pages from finishing SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson. I found out after I started reading it that it is the 1st of a trilogy, so I will probably read the next 2 books in the series next. SPIN is a science fiction novel set in the not-too-distant future and revolves around 3 main characters, Tyler and his best friends, Diane & Jason, fraternal twins with a drunken mother and a powerful father involved in aerospace & politics. We follow them as they grow up from 15-year-old kids when the “spin” happens (one night the stars suddenly disappear) through adulthood as the each deal with the effects of it. I would say it’s equal parts character driven and science fiction idea/plot driven. Very good so far and I hope the sequels are up to its standards. Greg ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/43 "2011-08-08T01:27:45Z")
Just finished Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s _Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom_, the latest in their horror comics set in Lovecraft, Mass. Violent, clever and with a fine dark sense of humor, and just as good as the earlier collections in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/44 "2011-08-08T02:34:00Z")
Finished **Stiff** , started and finished [**I Am A Genius Of Unspeakable Evil And I Want To Be Your Class President**](http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Unspeakable-Evil-Class-President/dp/B003A02R58/), which I read based on the title. Fast read, sorta amusing, but I feel there was a _lot_ more the author could have done with the premise. Short breather before starting the next book, which will be [**The Murder of the Century**](http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Century-Scandalized-Sparked-Tabloid/dp/0307592200/). ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/45 "2011-08-08T06:26:26Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Oh, and I took _The Windup Girl_ by Paolo Bacigalupi out of the library…someone tells me that it gets more interesting after the first few pages. please. I hated it. Interesting premise but none of the characters held my attention. And one of them’s a sexbot! Even the sexbot can’t make me finish the book. Am reading _Supergods_ by Grant Morrison. His treatise on superheroes. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/46 "2011-08-08T12:09:25Z")
Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. An apocolyptic tale, fairly short. Don’t know how he got so much out of so little, but it moved me. Rereading Morgan Llywelyn & Barbara Kingsolver books right now. Gonna try Bloodroot by Bill Loehfelm & Bone Harvest by Mary Logue next—I must be feeling goulish this month. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/47 "2011-08-08T12:52:47Z")
the plot to seize the white house by jules archer amazing book, i took a chance on it because it was a 2.99 kindle sale book. it sounded interesting. boy howdy it is interesting. big business plots against roosevelt to bring him down and stop the new deal. a bit scary in the deja vu sense of what is going on now. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/48 "2011-08-08T13:23:25Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Gonna try Bloodroot by Bill Loehfelm. I read this – it was good and disturbing. :eek:😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/49 "2011-08-08T13:27:05Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > the plot to seize the white house by jules archer > > …big business plots against roosevelt to bring him down and stop the new deal. a bit scary in the deja vu sense of what is going on now. It’s about this, I presume?: [Business Plot - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_plot) ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/50 "2011-08-08T14:14:27Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I read this – it was good and disturbing. :eek:😛 Thnx…I’ll make it next. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/51 "2011-08-08T14:57:16Z")
Halfway through **The Poisoner’s Handbook** , recommended by a number of you guys. Fascinating history - however, I haven’t decided if I like the structure imposed on the book yet. Each chapter is a type of poison - and sure, for the most part, the forensic history shared during that chapter is related to that poison. But the cases cited kinda meander and aren’t always great examples of the poison - or at least, the case isn’t always closed cleanly as an illustration of how new forensic toxicology saved the day (simplistic, yes, but that is the expectation set up by the chapters IMHO). And the author doesn’t always cleanly tie the chapters to the longer narrative, which so far is the emergence of science-based leadership in toxicology, battling the politics of the days - and the ongoing threat of wood alcohol poisoning as Prohibition takes hold… ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/52 "2011-08-08T16:51:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > It’s about this, I presume?: [Business Plot - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_plot) yes. i’m about half way through. gen. butler had very good reason to believe the plot. his experience in central america, haiti, and china, certainly gave him an interesting view of banks and big business. the poisoner’s handbook is fantastic. i read it last year after hearing the author on npr. a good insight into prohibition. also it makes you wonder how people survived eating and drinking back then. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/53 "2011-08-08T17:06:41Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished _The Devil All The Time_ this morning…what to say about this one? Well, it’s not for everyone. Harsh, gritty, just about too dark to bear. However, I think I liked it more than the short story collection. Finished it about 2 weeks ago. I agree. Much better than his short story collection. > [@Snickers](#): > > I just started [Day by Day Armageddon](http://www.amazon.com/Day-Armageddon-J-L-Bourne/dp/1439176671/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312554545&sr=1-1), a zombie survival novel written in the form of a journal by the protagonist. I’m not far into it, but found it good enough to buy based on the sample on my Kindle. Good popcorn fiction. The sequel is just as good. I’m not sure if Bourne is writing a third, but would definitely read it. > [@Becky2844](#): > > Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. An apocolyptic tale, fairly short. Don’t know how he got so much out of so little, but it moved me. Great novel. Won the Pulitzer. The chapter where they find the house with the people all chained up in the basement captured by the cannibals, was very intense. I’m thinking about starting the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. Haven’t read any of those, but I’ve heard they are good. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/54 "2011-08-08T22:16:06Z")
Finished _Hard Spell: An Occult Crimes Unit Investigation_ a competent-but-predictable urban fantasy about two supernatural crime cops. It was set in Scranton PA, an area that is familiar to me and I was entertained with the references to the area. One in particular - central PA coal-cracker country has an idiom that I would have spelled “henna” (because that is how I have heard it pronounced) but he spells _haina_ - which likely is a better spelling based on (what I have guessed is) the origin. It is used like this: It is freaking cold out tonight, haina? I have always guessed it came from _ain’t it (so)_? I may read the next one, but I am not going to watch for it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/55 "2011-08-10T03:21:51Z")
Finished _Jude the Obscure_, by Thomas Hardy. Excellent book. Although it would barely garner a PG rating today, back in 1895, it was considered extremely sexually scandalous and prompted a huge outcry, so much so that Hardy gave up writing novels – although as mentioned earlier he did publish one more that was written earlier – and devoted himself to poetry forever after. A pronunciation question: Hardy makes a point of saying that Phillitson pronounces one characters name as “Soo.” Is there some other, British way to pronounce Sue, which is the character’s name? That’s how I say it, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced otherwise. “Syoo”? That just doesn’t sound right. We’re taking the upcoming long holiday weekend (queen’s birthday) at the beach, in the town of Hua Hin on the upper peninsula. So I’ve checked some light reading out of the library, and next up is _Strip Tease_, by Carl Hiaasen. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/56 "2011-08-10T07:05:16Z")
I just finished _A Fish Caught in Time_, by Samantha Weinberg. The coelacanth, a fish thought by science to have gone extinct 65 million years ago, is caught by a fisherman off the Comoro Islands in 1938. This book tells of the efforts to find additional coelacanths, and of the problems, scientific, cultural and political, that ensue. A very worthwhile book, and not just for the ichthyologically inclined. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/57 "2011-08-10T12:26:50Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I read this – it was good and disturbing. :eek:😛 Ten pages in & I can hardly put it down… ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/58 "2011-08-10T13:32:04Z")
[Batavia’s Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History’s Bloodiest Mutiny](http://www.amazon.com/Batavias-Graveyard-Heretic-Historys-Bloodiest/dp/0609807161/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312982637&sr=1-2) I’ve always intended to find out more about this story, and now I am. I’m a couple of chapters in, it’s excellent so far. It ticks quite a few boxes for me: age of exploration, south seas/Australia, maritime history, all interests of mine along with unspeakable mayhem and horror, of which there is plenty in this story. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/59 "2011-08-10T14:03:12Z")
Over the weekend I read Barbara Hambly’s fantasy novel _Bride of the Rat God_. It’s set in Los Angeles in 1923 at the height of the silent film era, hence the hilarious title and matching movie poster cover. The story takes place during the filming of _The She-Devil of Babylon_, which is plagued by mishaps because the film’s lovely star is being hunted by an ancient Chinese demon. Hambly’s writing is always good, and this has a nice historical setting and a lot of humor. Now I’m in the middle of _The Dress Lodger_, by Sheri Holman, which is an historical novel set in northern England in the 1830s, just at the beginning of an epidemic of “cholera morbus”. The book has a weird, vivid prose style that fascinated me from the very first page. It’s written partially in second-person present. According to the author, a dress lodger was a prostitute who rented an expensive dress in order to appear higher class. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/60 "2011-08-10T14:26:14Z")
I read _The Dress Lodger_ primarily because I loved Holman’s _A Stolen Tongue_, about a pilgrim priest looking for missing religious artifacts. It was terrific. And her _The Mammoth Cheese_ was great and bizarre – a foretelling of the Octomom debacle. I see she has a new book called _Witches on the Road Tonight_ that I’ll have to check out. Her books are incredibly electic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916.md?page=4)